


The Man You Make, Now and Then

by saekhwa



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Episode Related, Episode Tag, Gen, In which Ray's big heart gets the best of him, Missing Scene, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 07:31:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7036750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saekhwa/pseuds/saekhwa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray Palmer recognizes young Mick is a lost kid, and everyone needs at least one friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Man You Make, Now and Then

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after episode 1.12 "Last Refuge," because after watching the finale, I thought about this ep in the Mick/Ray chronology. 
> 
> My friend Moriavis is awesome, and I appreciate her beta.

When Rip's mom sets down the teapot and disappears, Sara turns to Rip with a smirk. "So Michael, huh?"

Rip nods, finishing his sip of tea. "Yes. As you can see, you aren't the only ones who have multiple ways of identifying yourself."

"Yeah, but our hero names are cooler," Jax teases, and even Snart shrugs in what looks like agreement to that. 

"Not that Rip Hunter is a poor moniker," Stein says. 

Their banter is interrupted by Rip's mom returning, carrying baby Snart. Everyone stands to make a circle around her, because you'd have to be pretty heartless not to admit that Snart makes a really cute baby. Ray's never been a heartless man, although he wishes he could protect it better. As he looks around the circle at everyone—

His thoughts about having a team, being heroes, finding something worth fighting for are derailed when he notices Mick's gone. 

Ray steps away from the group and heads toward the hall. He doesn't have to go far before he hears Mick's low, gravelly voice say, "I think you fell in love with the flames dancing around." 

Ray's not eavesdropping, per se. Anyone could walk down the hall and overhear Mick, who must be talking to the teenage version of himself. Ray kind of wishes they'd had the chance to find the young Ray Palmer. Well, younger than the 2014 him. There's so much wisdom he wants to impart, mostly just to let himself know that things will turn out pretty awesome for him. There'll be heartbreak, of course, but he'll meet amazing people and find a team and be a hero. He'll actually make a difference in the world. 

Ray tunes back into the conversation just in time to hear Mick say, "There'd better not be any accidents. If there is, I'm gonna come looking for you. I'm gonna kill you." Which is not an appropriate pep talk for a teenager. 

Ray steps out into the hall to intervene, possibly stop Mick from doing something he'll regret, but the younger Mick says, "You sound just like my dad." It's a low blow, but kids are great at those. Ray has a whole childhood full of those kinds of memories. 

He can't see Mick's reaction, but he can see the way Mick's shoulders tense before he turns. Mick barely makes eye contact when he sees Ray. His face is tight, tighter than Mick's usual grim self, and Ray intends to go after him and check on him but first… 

He turns to the kid and approaches with a smile, a wave, and a warm, "Hey. Couldn't help but—"

"Butt your nose where it doesn't belong."

Ray laughs 'cause for a Mick who's this young, he sounds a lot like the current, older Mick. There has got to be a better way to distinguish the two, but Ray's hoping he doesn't have to referee these two in a room any time soon. 

He glances down the hall, even though he knows the older Mick has long since stalked off to be by himself. Ray turns when he hears the scrape and hiss of a match striking the base. Mick actually has two matches that he holds closer to his face than is safe. He looks…lost. He's so focused on the flame that a marching band could walk through and he might not tear his gaze away. And suddenly, Ray wonders if fire started off as Mick's way of coping with losing the only family he had. It puts a lot in perspective. 

"So hey. That guy?" Ray's glad he has Mick's attention, even if Mick only spares a glance at Ray before looking at the matches again. "I know it doesn't look, much less sound like it, but he's looking out for you."

"Heard that before."

Ray ducks his head, because Mick did just threaten the kid. And not play threaten but actually threaten to murder. Himself. Which…makes Ray pause, because Mick's not the kind of guy to joke about killing. So when he says it, he means it, and if he means it, knowing what that would mean for him, it says a lot actually. 

Ray shakes his head, though, because he can only take care of one Mick at a time, and right now, the teenager needs — not necessarily _Ray_ , but a friend. Not that Ray's even sure he's that friend, but he's pretty sure Mick and Snart haven't exactly made up after the whole betrayal so...Ray it is. 

"Right," Ray says. "Just know that this—all of this—will get better."

"Heard that, too."

"You have your whole life—"

"Look, mister, whatever you're going to say—" Mick hisses in a breath when the matches burn down to his fingers. He blows on them but then still pulls a matchbox out of his pocket, shaking one out. "I'm sure I've heard that, too. If you're not taking me home, then scram. I just wanna be left alone."

Mick doesn't look angry. He looks sad, and Ray can't leave this wounded kid alone. Ray turns and jogs into the room, poking his head in to ask, "Anyone have paper and a pen?"

"Yes, of course." Rip's mom gestures to the dresser by the wall as she bounces baby Snart. "In that drawer there."

"Thank you, ma'am." Ray grins at her and then hastily scrawls his name, email, and phone number. 

He darts a look at the hall, glad Mick's still there. He's not happy about the playing with matches part, but at least the kid hasn't left. 

"Here." Ray holds out the piece of paper, knowing Mick might just burn it, but the way Mick looks up at him for all of two seconds before going back to the blase teenager attitude tells Ray that Mick probably won't do that. "We're going to take you back home, and when we do, you come and find me? Preferably around 2001, because I'll just be a confused kid. But give me this note, okay? And you'll have someone else looking out for you."

Mick doesn't take the note, but Ray's not going to take it back either. "Why?"

"Because we can all use a friend. Another friend." Ray quirks a grin. "I'm pretty sure Leonard Snart'll be the first friend you'll make, but, uh, forget I said that. You probably will anyway, but at least, maybe, you'll remember this note, and you'll know you have some place to go."

Mick still doesn't take it, but Ray can't blame him. He sounds like a weirdo right now, and time traveling and Time Masters is a little hard for an adult to take in, much less a kid who's lost his whole life. So Ray crouches and sets the note very carefully near Mick's foot. 

"Just think about it," Ray says as he stands. "You'll have some time while you're here. Not that we plan on taking too long. Hopefully, it'll just be a few minutes for you."

Mick doesn't say a word, and if it wouldn't come across as weird, Ray would give him a hug. He thinks, maybe, that the adult Mick could use one, too. 

So Ray heads out to find him.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Hand Outstretched (The Man You Make remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12103269) by [litra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/litra/pseuds/litra)




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